Bicycle-mounted baseball bat and ball carrier

ABSTRACT

A carrier for an elongate article such as a baseball bat adapted to be mounted on a bicycle, comprising a first supporting member formed of a frame member having an elastomeric sheet-form retaining member supported thereon, the retaining member having a central aperture adapted to receive and retain a portion of the baseball bat therein, and a second supporting member for engaging and supporting another portion of the baseball bat, and means for mounting the supporting members on the bicycle. In a further embodiment a ball-supporting member formed of a single piece of wire having at least two helically positioned turns adapted to engage the ball is provided having means for mounting the ball-supporting member on one of the bat-supporting members or on the bicycle frame itself.

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 387,180, filed Aug. 9,1973.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to carriers adapted to be mounted onbicycles and related vehicles, and more particularly refers to suchcarriers particularly adapted for supporting baseball bats andbaseballs.

Baseball has become a favorite national sport and pastime for both youngand old. It has become particularly popular among young people, witnessthe tremendous increase in the growing popularity of young people'sbaseball leagues such as Little League, Junior League, Pony League, etc.Because the playing fields are generally located at a considerabledistance from the homes of the young players, the players almostinvariably utilize bicycles for transportation to the playing field. Asanyone who has ridden a bicycle knows, it is extremely difficult andeven dangerous to ride a bicycle while trying to hold a baseball bat inone hand. For greatest safety, it is generally required that the bicyclerider use both hands to manipulate the bicycle. Riding while utilizingone hand to hold a bat is extremely dangerous and is responsible fornumerous accidents. Moreover, there is a real danger that the baseballbat may get caught in the wheel spokes, resulting in the rider's beingthrown off the bicycle. Standard carriers are sometimes utilized, butthere is a tendency for the bat to bounce around and even bounce out ofthe carrier.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a devicewhich may be mounted on the frame of a bicycle for carrying a baseballbat.

It is a further object to provide such a device which secures thebaseball bat so that it cannot be thrown off by the up and down motionsof the bicycle.

It is still an additional object to provide a carrier device into whicha baseball bat may be readily placed.

It is another object to provide a carrier device which prevents thebaseball bat from interfering with the operation of the bicycle.

It is another object to provide a carrier mounted on the bicycle forholding a baseball securely, and for permitting instant removaltherefrom.

It is still another object to provide carriers of the type describedwhich are relatively simple to produce and relatively inexpensive.

Still other objects will readily present themselves to one skilled inthe art upon reference to the ensuing specification, the drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of a bicyclehaving a device according to the invention mounted on the bicycle andretaining a baseball bat.

FIG. 2 is a somewhat modified embodiment of the baseball bat carriershowing how the carrier may be mounted in several different positions,and additionally illustrating a baseball carrier.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the rear portion of another type ofbicycle having a baseball bat carrier according to the invention mountedthereon.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a secondary carrier member of the invention.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the device shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a primary carrying member according to theinvention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an annular flange member for the device shownin FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a complementary annular flange member.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of an elastomeric diaphragm utilized in thestructure of FIG. 7.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of an elastomeric diaphragm for supporting thelarge end of a baseball bat.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the baseball bat retainer ofthe invention taken at the line 12--12 of FIG. 7, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the baseball batretainer having a modified form of mounting.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the baseball batretainer having still another form of mounting.

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the baseball batretaining member having a further modified form of mounting.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a bat retaining member according to theinvention having a mounting bracket directly affixed thereto as shown inFIG. 4.

FIG. 17 is an elevational view showing a baseball retainer according toanother embodiment of the invention, and having a baseball retainedtherein, and

FIG. 18 is an elevational view of the structure and ball shown in FIG.17 but rotated through a 90° angle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a baseball bat retaining member 10 according to theinvention is shown mounted on a bicycle 11 comprising a primary batretaining member 12 mounted by means of a bracket 13 to the seat post 14of the bicycle, and a secondary bat retaining member 15 mounted by meansof a bracket 16 to the bracket 17 of a bicycle seat 18.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a somewhat modified method of mounting theinvention on a bicycle is shown. In this embodiment the primary batretaining member 12, similar to that shown in FIG. 1, is mounted bymeans of two metal straps 19 and 20 by means of bolts, the straps beingaffixed to a seat supporting member 21 mounted on the bicycle 22. Asecondary retaining member 23 is mounted on the seat support pillar 24and may be ring-form, a wire clamping bracket, or any other type ofsuitable bracket. In FIG. 2, the broken lines radiating from thesecondary retaining member 23 illustrate various positions in which abat may be supported by moving the straps 19 and 20 upwardly. A baseballretainer 25 according to the invention is shown mounted to the strap 19.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a secondary bat retaining member 15 isshown, similar to that shown in FIG. 1, comprising a wire loop 30 havingits ends shaped in the form of eyes 31 and 32 pivotally mounted on aU-form bracket 33 having eyes 34 and 35 at the ends thereof for mountingon a bicycle seat, as shown in FIG. 1. A flexible or elastomeric tube 36is mounted over the loop 30 to prevent rattling or contact noise causedby the movement of the bat retained therein. The form of the secondaryretaining member is not critical, as it serves primarily to suspend oneend of the bat, the other end being firmly retained against axial andradial movement by the primary retaining member 12. The secondaryretaining member may alternatively be in the form of a ring, springclamps, strap-form clamps, or any of a number of other forms.

A fully assembled primary retaining member is shown in FIGS. 7 and 12,and the separate parts thereof illustrated in FIGS. 8-11. Referring tothe drawings and particularly FIGS. 7-12, the structure comprises afirst annular frame member 37 having an axially extending flange 38(FIG. 9). Within the flange is mounted an elastomeric diaphragm 39having a central aperture 40 with slits 41 provided therein to define aplurality of gripping fingers 42. Apertures 41a may be provided at theradially outer ends of the slits 41 to permit freer movement of thefingers 42. A second flange 44 (FIG. 8) is mounted over the diaphragmand the entire structure is affixed together by bolts or rivets 45inserted in apertures provided in both flanges and in the diaphragmperiphery. The assembled bat retaining structure 49 is shown incross-section in FIG. 12.

The diaphragm 39 shown in FIGS. 7 and 10 has a relatively small centralaperture 40 designed to accept and retain the handle end of a bat. FIGS.11, 13 and 14 illustrate a diaphragm 46 having a larger central aperture47 and correspondingly shorter slits 48 with apertures 48a designed toaccept and retain the large end of the bat. In each case the secondaryretaining member is appropriately designed to receive the other end ofthe bat. Alternatively, a second primary bat retaining member may beutilized instead of the secondary retaining member, a diaphragm with asmall aperture being used for the handle end and one with a largeraperture being used for the thick or club end.

The primary bat retaining member shown in FIGS. 7-12 may be mounted onthe bicycle in any of numerous ways. As shown in FIG. 15, the primaryretaining member 12 is mounted by means of straps 49 and 50 which are inturn affixed to the rear fender supporting braces 51 and 52. FIG. 13illustrates the retaining member 12 mounted on seat supporting braces 53and 54 by means of individual straps 55 and 56.

FIG. 14 illustrates a bat retaining member 12 mounted at the ends offender braces 57 and 58 which in turn support a fender 59. Various othermethods and structures for mounting the bat retaining member may beutilized.

Referring to FIG. 16, a primary bat retaining member 62 is shown havingan integral mounting bracket 63 affixed to an annular frame member 64,and having apertures 65 provided in the bracket 63 for mounting. Theretaining member 62 additionally comprises an annular frame member 66having an axial flange 67. A sheet-form elastomeric diaphragm 68 isclamped between the frame members 64 and 66 and secured by rivets orbolts 69. A central aperture 70 is provided in the center of thediaphragm 68, and radial slits 71 are provided in the diaphragm todefine a plurality of gripping fingers or flaps 72. Retaining members 62such as shown in FIG. 15 are shown mounted on a bicycle in FIG. 4. InFIG. 4 the primary retaining member 62 is shown supporting the large endof a bat 73 and being mounted on a crossbar of a rear fork 74 of abicycle 75. The smaller end of the bat is supported by means of asecondary retaining means in the form of a ring 76 affixed to the seat77. In order to illustrate other means of mounting the bat retainingapparatus of the invention, FIG. 4 also illustrates a retaining member62 mounted by means of a bracket 78 on the seat support of the bicycle,cooperating with a secondary bat support 79 mounted on a fender support80. Additionally a retaining member 62 is shown mounted by means of abracket 81 on the seat post 82. The retaining member 62 cooperates witha secondary retaining member 83 in the form of a loop such as that shownin FIGS. 5 and 6 and mounted on fender support 84. In any of thepositions shown, the elastomeric diaphragm of the retaining membersecurely grips the bat so that it cannot slide out even when the bat isin a position lower than the retaining member. If desired, a secondprimary retaining member having an elastomeric diaphragm can besubstituted for the ring-type of secondary retaining member.

Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17 a further structure according to theinvention is shown comprising a baseball retaining member 85. Thebaseball retaining member 85 comprises a helical wire loop having twoturns 86 and 87 spaced apart and having eyes 88 and 89 provided at theends thereof mounted on a bolt 90 and nut 91 combination having a spacer92 mounted thereon separating the loops 88 and 89, and retained bywashers 93 and 94. The assembly may be mounted on a bicycle in anymethod available in the art, and may be mounted as shown in FIGS. 2 and3 on the support for the primary bat retaining member. The diameter ofthe loops 86 and 87 should be smaller than the diameter of the baseball95, so that the baseball may be securely held between the two loops.

The bat-carrying apparatus of the present invention has many advantages.It frees the hands of the operator and promotes safety for the bicyclerider. Both the primary and secondary retaining members are providedwith brackets which can be mounted on virtually every type of bicycle.The elastomeric diaphragm securely retains the bat and prevents itsshaking loose or rattling on the frame and holds the bat so securelythat even if the bicycle is dropped to the ground the bat would still beretained. The diaphragm may be designed to receive either the largediameter end of the bat or the handle end. The bat is prevented frommoving axially or rattling. The retaining members may be mounted on theseat, the seat post, or other portions of the frame of the bicycle. Theymay also be mounted on brackets which are normally provided to supportreflectors. The annular frame members may be formed of a metal such assteel, aluminum, or zinc, or of a plastic material. The diaphragm may beformed of rubber, synthetic rubbers or elastomeric plastics such aspolyvinyl chloride or polyurethane. The central aperture of thediaphragm may be made either large or small, depending on whether thelarge end or the handle end of the bat is to be inserted therein. Theannular frame members can be affixed together by means of bolts, rivets,or plastic rods which may be molded at one end integral with thesupporting member and heated at the other to enlarge the end forengaging the other frame member. If a plastic material is used, a highimpact plastic should be used from among those commonly available in theart. The ball carrier may be formed preferably of wire having sufficientresilience to permit spreading apart for inserting the ball, and forretaining the ball after it is inserted between the two loops.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to theexact details of operation or structures shown and described, as obviousmodifications and equivalents will be apparent to one skilled in theart.

We claim:
 1. A ball holder adapted to be mounted on a bicycle and toengage and retain a baseball therein, comprising a unitary wire-formstructure in the form of a two-turn helix and means at the end thereofdefining an integral loop formed at each end of said helix, a tubularcollar disposed intermediate said loops, and a bolt disposed throughsaid loops and said collar having an engaging nut threadingly mounted onthe end thereof for mounting on said bicycle, the diameter of said turnsbeing smaller than that of said baseball, whereby said baseball may beinserted between said wire turns and securely retained therebetween. 2.A ball holder according to claim 1, having a baseball in combinationtherewith disposed intermediate the turns of said helix and retainedtherebetween.